COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONA new Vertical Epic will be released every year, with the goal being to collect them all and have a Vertical Epic tasting once the final Epic is released on 12/12/12. Each new Stone Vertical Epic Ale will be release one YEAR, one MONTH and one DAY apart. This time around, we used no spices in the brewing of this beer. If you've tasted the beer before reading this, that may surprise you. The special Belgian yeast we used adds a distinctively spicy aroma and flavor. Roastiness, clove, hops, fruitiness, and those other great and funky phenols abound in the nose. What's in the flavor? You certainly get some dark roasted malts and alcohol overtones. What else? Hints of earthiness, chocolate/cocoa, hop spiciness, maybe even anise, and ... the incredible variety of complexities from the classic brewing ingredients of barley malt, hops, yeast and water, when applied with an artistic brewer's talent never ceases to amaze.

(on bottle) Had this baby a bit too warm, so...Dark, clear redish-brown, with a small beige head. Sent of fried bananas and a light molasses. Has more burn, mocca, notes in flavour, big sweetness and got cloying in the end. A bit of a alcoholic finish.

Pours a dark mahogany. Aroma is very spicy with banana and clove. Flavor is slightly roasty with flavors of banana, clove, licorice and other spices. Finish is dry and somewhat bitter. Not my favorite style, but a decent brew.

Cold 22oz bottle: Pours a beautiful clear ruby color with a small light tan head that dissolves and leaves a thin layer of bubbles in a web shape with bubbles around the edges and some lacing. Aroma is of roasted malts, spice, flowers and fruit. Taste is of roasted malts, aromatic hops, anise, fruit and notes of chocolate. Full bodied, oily texture and well carbonated. Ending is of roasted malts and aromatic hops with sour notes and a slight alcohol burn.

Bottle: Poured a black color ale with a huge foamy dirty beige head with average retention. Aroma is quite hoppy which was kind of surprising for a Belgian Ale but then again Iím starting to get use to different with beers from Stone. Taste is a mix between roasted malt, caramel with a big heavy dose of citrus hops at the end that IMHO donít mix very well with this beer. Body is above average and alcohol is not discernable. Overall, I guess I have a hard time with the heavy dose of hops in a Belgian Ale which is why this is not something I will seek in the future.

22oz bomber courtesy of sunnydlyte23 poured into a snifter.
Pours a deep, clear copper underneath a healthy tan head that lingers as a cap for the duration and leaves good lacing.
The aroma is sweet with lots of dark fruits - figs, raisins, pears - soaked in booze. Plenty of brown sugar and some licorice and spices. It actually has a slight hint of oxidation in the nose with a bit of stale cardboard coming through.
The taste has the same booze-soaked fruity sweetness as the aroma. There is plenty of dark malts forming a solid backbone along with Belgian sugars before the spices leave a slight tingle on the palate in the finish. Again, signs of oxidation in the taste, just as in the aroma.
The mouthfeel is medium bodied with decent carbonation and the oxidation seems to have thinned it out slightly. The alcohol is definitely present in the finish.
This is a good beer that I think was probably a great beer at some point - probably a little past itís prime. Very sweet with a good spice presence to mix it up a bit.

On draft. When this beer was released, the White Sox were in first place marching towards a World Series victory. I was still drinking bourbon, listening to Mike Jones, being 19 years old and generally embarrassing. Did this age well? No. But, you know me, I think beers that age well are the figment of the imagination of people who hoard beers. Pours a dark brown color with a beige head. Aroma of oxidation, cardboard, weird sweetness. Some clove and mild dark fruit. Flavor is flabby and generically sweet, lots of oxidation. Medium bodied, some average carbonation. Finishes weirdly sweet.

"Sweet leaning, but not overly slow. Some signs of oxidation after 7 years, but not spoiled. Hints of clove and other Belgian-y spices going on, and some non-descript dark fruit and a hint of alcohol. Definitely a gimmick to sit on these for 12 years, especially since you can make a couple car payments by selling them. Iíve never had a bottle of my own past one year, and I donít think most of the VE releases will be better than fresh after 6-12 months anyway..."

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